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'Remembering Pearl Harbor'

PEARL HARBOR by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen is one of many resources available at the Detroit Lakes Library to help prepare you for the Dec. 7 presentation "Remembering Pearl Harbor" at the Historic Holmes Theatre.

Join Minnesota State University Moorhead professor of history Dr. Steve Hoffbeck on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Historic Holmes Theatre in Detroit Lakes, as he shares the Minnesotan response and contribution to the war including the sending of soldiers to the battlefronts, enduring shortages and rationing of vital World War II materials like gasoline and sugar.

This program is hosted by the Detroit Lakes Library, and supported in part or in whole with money from the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage fund. Highlighted below are some of the newer library materials about Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor (Pacific War series) by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen and Albert S.Hanser. This powerful saga covers the heroic highs and horrifying lows of America's darkest day -- from the White House to the Wheeler Army Air Field, from top-brass military officers, national leaders, and admirals to the ordinary citizens caught in the chaos of war. Compelling and meticulously researched, this novel of valor stretches from the chambers of the Emperor of Japan all the way back to the lonely office of Commander James Watson, an American cryptographer who suspects the impending catastrophic attack. A story of intrigue, double-dealing, the brutality of war, and the desperate efforts by men of reason on both sides to prevent a titanic struggle that becomes inevitable, Pearl Harbor inaugurates the dramatic new Pacific War series -- one that entertains as well as informs -- from two masters of the genre.

The Pacific War (DVD). For years the world has watched films of World War II in black and white. Now for the first time, follow alongside those who experienced the war first hand in this remarkable and moving portrait revealing never-before-seen footage shot in full color.

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched its attack on Pearl Harbor resulting in the United States being thrust full force into World War II - turning it into a truly global conflict. American Marines and many of the great filmmakers of the day captured color footage of the events as they unfolded -- the Coral Sea in flames; Guadalcanal littered with corpses; rarely seen images of the deportation of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent and much more.

Sealing Their Fate: The Twenty-Two Days That Decided World War II, by David Downing. As the Japanese fleet prepared to sail from Japan to Pearl Harbor, the German army was launching its final desperate assault on Moscow, while the British were planning a decisive blow against Rommel in North Africa. The British conquered the desert, the Germans succumbed to Moscow's winter, and the Japanese awakened the sleeping giant of American might. In just three weeks, from November 17 to December 8, the course of World War II was decided and the fate of Germany and Japan was sealed.

With new insight and a fresh perspective, David Downing tells the story of these crucial days, shifting the riveting narrative from snowbound Russian villages to the stormy northern Pacific, from the North African desert to Europe's warring capitals, and from Tokyo to Washington.

Library Happenings

 Wednesday, November 24 and Wednesday, December 1: Wow Wii Wednesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

The Detroit Lakes Library is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. For more info, call 218-847-2168.